‘It’s about livability:’ Market Common housing plan rejected by city leaders

A hotly contested housing plan inside Market Common’s retail core was shunned by Myrtle Beach leaders, who sided with residents’ worried about how it would affect the economic future of a Myrtle Beach anchor.

The city council’s 5-2 against the proposal to put more than 200 rental units in a well-traveled part of the popular shopping and retail district ended months of contention and was a departure from the planning commission’s recommendation that MarketWalk be allowed to happen.

Mayor Brenda Bethune and councilman Gregg Smith were in favor, while Michael Chestnut, Jackie Hatley, John Krajc, Mike Lowder and Philip Render opposed the plan.

“The majority of everything that’s been discussed at the planning commission and here is about money. And basically for people living in The Reserve, it’s about livability,” is how Paul Meunier, president of the 109-member HOA abutting the project’s would-be home, told the city council March 28.

At issue was whether property owner HomeFed Corportation should be able to move forward with plans to build 200 rental units at the intersection at of Farrow Parkway and Phillis Boulevard.

“I don’t want our area to turn into another Horry County,” Render said at the March 28 council meeting. “The density is just too great and to that end, I’m just not going to be able to support this.”

Bill McClure, a former mayoral candidate, said city leaders were right to shoot down the MarketWalk concept.

“They did the right thing. They absolutely did the right thing,” he said. “If they jammed 203 rental units in there, it’s just going to be a disaster.”

In his remarks during the meeting, Smith said he was uncomfortable with the idea of controlling private development using a city council vote.

“I think the easy vote for this is to just say no and not let it happen. The reality is, something is going to happen there some time, and if it’s not this plan, maybe five years down the road they want to build a 10-story apartment complex that houses 500 units or something.

I believe that a private property owner has the right to do something reasonable with their property, and while I may not think this is the greatest thing, I think this is a reasonable thing for a private property owner to do with their property.”

Meunier and other opponents took to calling the idea “another Carolina Forest between the 17s,” angered at the idea of marathon commutes and traffic jams at peak hours of the day.

The property where MarketWalk was to be constructed was never meant to stay vacant.

Early visions called for a 180,000-square-foot retail area, which morphed into a hotel with a 2017 change to Market Common’s master plan.

But developers say their most recent idea would actually cut down on congestion when measured against the failed hotel.

A traffic study tied to the housing plan said it would be seven times less impactful than a hotel.

“We wish there was a hotel there,” Bob Penner, a senior projects manager at HomeFed, told the council.

Given Market Common’s distance from a major artery like U.S. Route 501 proved to be a high bar to clear for major investments by lodging companies.

“Our whole goal is to get more people into the center to shop, dine and promote those services, and so far we’ve been successful. But having a vacant parcel adjacent to that serves no purpose to that end,” Penner said. “We can build commercial all day but if there aren’t enough people coming and living close enough to utilize it, it really doesn’t do any good.”

Rents would have started at $2,300 a month, and 440 more parking spaces would be created to accommodate MarketWalk’s residents.

In addition to support by the city’s planning commission — whose members are appointed by the council — MarketWalk was backed by DC BLOX and the Myrtle Beach Air Force Redevelopment Authority.

Market Common resident Chris Lovorn — who has spoken against MarketWalk several times — renewed his opposition March 28.

Despite traffic studies, “I trust my gut and I trust my experience,” he told the city council. “I live there. I know what it’s like to try and get out onto Phillis.”

Lowder said he couldn’t support clustered housing on Market Common’s last large swath of vacant land.

“To be honest with y’all, I have concerns. I don’t know that I agree what we need out there is more and more rooftops. We’ve got a lot of rooftops now. What I do believe we need out there is more commercial, not big box,” he said at the meeting. “This is not just for folks who live there, it’s for tourists who go out there and enjoy the day, enjoy multiple days out there.”